


Always Like This

by txelaine



Category: Avenged Sevenfold
Genre: F/M, aag!zacky, hopefully the rating will appear in later chapters, this is very short and i’m not a writer at ALL so forgive me, um idk where i’m going w this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-10-10 21:42:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20535047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/txelaine/pseuds/txelaine
Summary: um thanks for reading! i probably will abandon this in a week but i have the second chapter halfway written but we’ll see if i post it. lmk if i should actually put effort and finish this lol





	1. Chapter 1

She probably picked it up from Syn. 

Zee was walking to the connivence store down the street from their hotel. She recently found herself smoking more and more and now that she wasn’t just bumming one or two cigarettes from Syn anymore he gave her $10 to go buy her own. 

She huffed, watching her warm breath become fog in the chilly air. Where the fuck were they again? As Zee approached the gas station she checked her phone, just barely midnight. 

She sighed softly, it was nice and warm in the store. Since Zee has only been smoking Brian’s cigarettes she only had been smoking one kind: the classic Marlboro reds. 

She didn’t wanna risk getting something that she wouldn’t end up liking so she just opted to get those. 

Zee browsed the store for a bit, she hummed softly to herself. She just decided she’d get a pack of gum, nothing was really good in here anyway. 

She set the gum down on the counter, digging around in her pocket for the money Bri gave her. The lighters at the front caught her eye, if she was buying cigarettes why not get a lighter too? Zee plucked a fun neon orange one off the display and set it down next to the gum. 

“Can I get a pack of Marlboro reds too? Soft box please.”

The young cashier just nodded and pulled out a pack from the locked cabinet above. Zee set the $10 down on the counter, she looked at the guy, he was probably no younger than 18. 

“Keep the change.” she smiled, walking out into the cold. She cursed because she wished she had worn a better jacket. 

She started her walk back, tearing the plastic off the pack and shoving it in her pocket. Zee stepped into an alley to light up a smoke, it was pretty windy so it still took a few tries to actually get it to light. 

She looked around the street, it was pretty dark out for it being pretty early in the night. At least by her standards of ‘early’. It was lit up by a few bars, they all looked pretty empty so she assumed this wasn’t really the party side of town. 

There was more apartments surrounding Zee than anything else so she assumed this was more of a residence part of town, makes sense for the gas station and the few bars. 

She approached their hotel pretty quickly as it wasn’t too far from the little connivence store. Zee assumed that the hotel staff didn’t want some punk chick smoking in their lobby so she waited outside to finish her cigarette.

It had to only have been a few minutes before a familiar face walked out and stood next to her.

“Can I bum one?”

Zee looked up at Brian, nodding before pulling her own pack out and her colorful lighter. He laughed at her color choice on it. 

“Orange? How fun.”

She cracked a grin, taking back her shit when he lit up a smoke for himself. Brian was dressed in his pjs now, he was taking a shower when Zee left. 

She eyed him, “It’s chilly out here and you’re just wearing pajamas?” He looked down at Zee, she wasn’t any better dressed than he was, just a jacket on top of a Misfits shirt and worn out jeans. 

“Knew you’d be back before I knew it so decided to get you back on all the smokes you bummed off of me.” Brian smiled at her. 

Zee was pretty in the sense that she was a punk chick who could care less about her appearance. Brian spent more time getting ready than she did, that’s saying something. Bri was meticulous about his hair and there couldn’t be a strand out of place or no one was leaving. 

She wore makeup but more as a stage appearance than for beauty purposes, her hair was getting on the longer side and she would probably end up cutting it in the bathroom of the bus. (again)

Zee was short compared to the rest of them but still taller than Johnny, something she prided herself on. They all pretty much gave him shit for being shorter than her. Even she did. 

She hadn’t been smoking long but she had already perfected the art of it. Inhaling in a lovely mixture of chemicals and tobacco and making it seem so sexy when Zee exhaled. Brian was mesmerized by her. 

It was only when she looked at him that he noticed that he zoned out. 

“You starin’ at me?”

She had an eyebrow raised at him, analyzing his face for anything. Zee couldn’t come up with anything, he just- was off daydreaming. 

He shook his head, moving to look around at their surroundings, there was a bar across the street but looked to be not exactly the party hangout kind. It was pretty dim outside, the hotel didn’t have many lights outside it, there was the streetlight and that was pretty much it. 

Zee finished her cigarette and dropped the butt of it into the designated trash bin for them. She sighed softly, she felt better now that she had her little nicotine fix. 

She stuffed her hands into her pockets, trying to warm them up a bit. Zee looked at Brian, he looked sorta feminine in the dim street lighting. His long, feathery hair combined with the makeup that he didn’t care to wash off in his shower remained on his face. 

Now Zee was the one caught staring.

Brian didn’t seem too bothered since he was in the same predicament that she is now. He smirked, waving his hand around his face, batting his eyelashes. 

“How do I look?

She slapped his arm playfully, laughing softly to herself. 

“The same as usual.” 

Brian pouted at Zee, she just grinned at him. Brian dropped his cigarette butt into the trash can and wrapped his arms around himself. 

“It’s fucking cold, let’s go inside Zee”

She nodded, following after him to go back into the hotel. Zee smiled at the warm air in the lobby. 

The receptionist eyed them suspiciously, as if they were gonna trash the place. Which they weren’t. (they just looked like it)

They made their way into the elevator and Brian presses the button for their floor. The fourth to be exact. They were rooming together tonight, it didn’t bother either of them that they had to sleep in the same bed. It wasn’t like they hadn’t done it before. 

The elevator dinged softly, letting the pair know that they had arrived. Zee walked out first, pretty sure that she was the only one with a keycard, Brian probably forgot his. 

She waited for him when she reached the door. Zee then swiped it when he was standing next to her. 

Zee walked in and set her keycard down on the nightstand, she emptied out her pockets before unzipping her jacket. She tossed it down next to her duffle before digging through it for some pj shorts. She grabbed them before reaching around to unclasp her bra. They were uncomfortable as fuck but she’d get sexist comments or something if she went without one. 

Brian just flopped on the bed, face down, it was so much more comfortable than a bunk. Even if he had to share it with a certain rhythm guitarist. 

Zee looked up at Bri before deciding that it wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before. Zee undid her belt and dropped it on top of her bag. She dropped her jeans down next and slipped on her shorts before turning off the lights and crawling into bed. 

Zee shoved at Brian lightly, making sure she got her whole side of the bed. He groaned but moved to accommodate her. 

Zee smiled to herself, setting her head down on the pillow and finding sleep quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

Zee woke up to Brian’s phone blaring his annoyingly pop ringtone. She groaned, she was so so comfortable in the hotel bed and with Brian’s arm around her….wait.

She looked down to see indeed Brian’s arm wrapped around her and holding her close, they were cuddling. Basically.

Now she really didn’t wanna move but she knew if someone was calling him then they were pretty late.

Zee moved his arm gently off of her and sat up and turned to look at him, his eyes are open which she didn’t expect. She cocks an eyebrow at him.

“We’re late, you know that right?”

He shrugs, sitting up himself and grabbing his phone. He looks at the caller id before answering and putting whoever on speaker. It’s Matt.

‘Why the fuck are you guys still not down here! You better not be hungover we have no time for your bullshit, we gotta leave now. You have 10 minutes before we’re ditching you, shitheads.’ Then he hangs up.

Brian panics, jumping out of bed, “10 minutes? I’m not gonna have time to do my hair!” Zee laughs at him on the bed while he rushes into the bathroom to fix his hair up.

She still has a smile on her face when she changes back into jeans and puts her bra on. Zee digs her toothbrush and her tube of toothpaste from the outside pocket of her duffel bag and goes into the bathroom with Brian. He’s already started brushing his hair and styling it the way he likes it.

She splashes water on her face before squirting a blob of toothpaste on her toothbrush. Zee brushes her teeth while she watches Brian carefully straighten his hair in the mirror.

She spits out the toothpaste and rinses her mouth, by the time she’s done Brian has moved onto makeup, he’s running his eyeliner over the top of his eye before doing the bottom and giving it a wing. He smiles at his reflection and moves to do the other eye.

Zee rolls her eyes and leaves the bathroom, making sure to pack all her shit back into her duffel. She stands up and laces her belt through the loopholes on her jeans, making sure that they stay up.

Brian comes back into the room with both eyes slathered in eyeliner and his hair perfectly styled. He changes into his usual jeans with a random shirt and putting two belts on top. He puts his fedora on to complete his Synyster Gates look and then he grabs his bag.

“Let’s go, Zee, you’re ready right?”

She nods, looking behind her and making sure she didn’t miss anything. It would suck if she forgot something.

“Yep,” she says, popping the p more than necessary.

He opens the door for her and he turns off the lights behind him, making their walk to the elevator.

Zee presses the button to go down and waits patiently with Brian, who was waiting less than patiently. She checked her phone, they’ve still got three minutes from Matt’s 10-minute time limit.

The elevator dings and Brian steps in first, then Zee. She leans against the walls of the elevator, she really doesn’t wanna go back on the tour bus and be crammed for what, 6 hours? She’d rather stay in a warm hotel bed with Brian and watch a movie or something.

Brian must notice she’s all pouty about something so he wraps an arm around her.

“Don’t worry about whatever it is you’re worrying about, you’ll be fine Zee”

She looks up at him and smiles, she feels better but still not excited about the long drive to the next venue. Zee’s carrying her duffle in her other hand so she wraps her arm around him in return. Brian always makes her feel better.

“You don’t gotta worry about your appearance all the time Bri, you’re pretty without all the makeup.”

He looks at her, “Yeah but, it’s fun to be someone else than just me, y'know?”

Zee nods, of course, she knows and she gets it. She doesn’t push on it anymore.

The elevator dings softly but they’re not at the lobby floor yet, they’re stopped at the second. A couple climbs in and when the doors close the guy perks up.

“You’re pretty lucky there dude, she’s a real nice catch.” His voice is slurred and thick with a southern accent. He’s probably drunk, great. They’re in an elevator with a drunk person.

His partner looks embarrassed and mouths an apology to them, Zee just smiles at her. She’s pretty, the classic blonde and blue-eyed chick you see in the magazines.

Zee doesn’t care much to tell the guy that she and Brian aren’t an item. Brian seems to though. “Oh we’re not- we’re just friends.” His face has a flush of pink on it.

The other guy just nods and winks. “Just friends? Whatever you say, dude.”

The elevator dings and Zee and Brian hurry to get out of the awkward interaction. They meet up with the rest of the guys waiting in the lobby, looking impatient.

The guys look well-rested considering that the three of them had to share a room. Matt cracks an eyebrow at the embarrassment written all over both of their faces.

“What happened? I can practically smell the embarrassment.”

Brian waves his hand in dismissal, shaking his head. “Some guy thought we were a couple and he congratulated me for scoring a good catch.”

Jimmy and Johnny burst out laughing. Even Matt was stifling giggles.

“To be honest, you two tend to act like a couple. I’m not exactly shocked that someone hasn’t said it sooner.”

Zee rolls her eyes, crossing her arms.

“In what way do we act like a couple? We’re just two people that enjoy hanging out with each other. If I was a guy it wouldn’t be any different.”

Matt just shakes his head. “One day you’ll pull your head out of your ass and see the obvious.”

Jimmy and Johnny are already walking outside towards the bus, chatting about something.

Zee carries her bag over her shoulder, muscles built up from lugging her own amps and guitar around. Her bandmates know she doesn’t wanna be treated like a princess, she’s just a girl who happens to play rhythm guitar in a band.

Jimmy moves to climb onto the bus, followed by Johnny and Matt. Brian looks at her and makes a gesture to let her know she should get on first.

She’s tempted to roll her eyes again but she just hoists her bag up and climbs on. Zee goes straight to her bunk, dumping her duffel in the little storage space designated for her.

She stands up and heads to the lounge. She takes a seat on the tiny couch they have. Zee grabs her acoustic guitar and strums it. It’s not completely out of tune but it’s enough to bother her if she doesn’t tune it correctly.

When she’s done, she strums across the strings once again and smiles. Zee doesn’t really know what she’s playing, it’s not really a riff but more her just letting out her emotions into her fingertips and into the guitar.

Zee doesn’t notice Brian sitting at the other end of the lounge sofa watching her play. It’s not until she plays the last note that he speaks up.

“That something new?”

Zee jumps slightly. She didn’t expect for her acoustic session to turn into a listening party. She looks up at him, then back down at her guitar.

“Not really, just played whatever came to mind. Letting everything out y’know?”

Brian nods, looking at her hands resting on her guitar. “It was nice, it would make a slow song, Zee”

Zee smiles softly, looking down at her fingers on the frets. Brian’s words slowly seeped into her, filling her whole body with a soft and comforting warmth.

She tucks her hair back behind her head where it had fallen and looks up at Brian, he’s scoot closer and has the same somber look on his perfect face.

Zee looks down at her guitar and starts replaying what she had already played, this time with a song in mind. She plays it slower, so she can remember the notes for when she can get a chance to write it down.

There are no lyrics in her mind but she hums along softly, keeping her pace and letting her fingers do all the work.

**Author's Note:**

> um thanks for reading! i probably will abandon this in a week but i have the second chapter halfway written but we’ll see if i post it. lmk if i should actually put effort and finish this lol


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